Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...

Emerging writers identify an informational piece of writing. They are provided with examples of informational writing and view a PowerPoint on narrative writing. Then, they design their own informational writing with a brochure,...

It's all about using peer resources in this writing process lesson, which includes a fantastic novel revision worksheet packet. Learners have read a partner's story draft the night before, and groups have a "lightning round of...

How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...

Students create a studenT book based on their knowledge of writing stories. They must complete a pre-writing activity and provide illustrations for the book.

Learners identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Learners write a narrative...

There is nothing more exciting than allowing learners to express themselves through a creative medium. In groups, they write narrative stories, focusing on building a strong storyline and dialogue. Next, they transform their stories into...

Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...

Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class.  In this story writing instructional activity, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at...

Students create scripts about California settlers. The document reflects the settlers' fears, expectations, and realizations.

Upper grade and middle school writers study the art of parody. In this language arts lesson, learners study the work of Lewis Carroll, read and discuss parodies from the book, Alice in Wonderland, and construct their own parody based on...

Eighth graders write a three part dialogue as part of an effective memoir.  In this three part dialogue lesson, 8th graders are given two parts of a dialogue and emotions that accompany the words.  Students then create the...

Fifth graders chart the elements of drama. In this performing arts lesson plan, 5th graders discuss the role of a playwrite, practice doing some Reader's Theatre scripts, write a paragraph about a problem between two people,...

Students investigate storytelling by creating their own dialogue. In this writing development lesson, students read the story Jeremy Thatch, Dragon Hatcher in class and discuss their own magical object they wish to write a story about....

Sixth graders write a narrative. They choose options for plot and climax within the context of an outdoor survival story.

Students edit and improve their short stories by examining character description, dialogue, and plot elements. In peer editing groups they correct gramatical and spelling errors. they read aloud their new story drafts.

Students complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. For this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Students choose a character from the story and...

Do your young readers have difficulty visualizing what they read? Although the activity described here is for The Call of the Wild, the strategy could be used with any narrative. At the conclusion of each chapter of Jack London’s novel,...

Students write a ballad from a farmer's point of view on trade. For this farmer's lesson plan, students listen to a farmer speak about fair trade, have a dialogue about it, and write a ballad to interpret their point of view.

Students analyze the factors that affect exploration such as religion, trade, territorial expansion, and science. In this Great Explorations lesson, students determine the names of famous explorers as well as their routes and...

Young scholars work in groups to write an original fairy tale in Italian. They research the components of a fairy tale, compare and contrast fairy tales with myths and follow an outline to write a complete, 15-20 page fairy tale.

Students create a memoir. They compare writing with story telling and personal experience. They analyze how they learn, so they can begin to look critically at their own learning.

The goal of this lesson is to have learners understand how character is created through a combination of what they say and do, and what others say about them. In pairs, learners construct a short dialogue between a parent and child after...